Citroen Is Returning To The Oddball Big Saloon Game

Hands up if you recognise the true beauty in a big, comfy and slightly eccentric French car. Citroen has some welcome news for you.

The French brand has announced that a new flagship saloon is on the way, despite years of falling sales in the mainstream-brand-large-saloon pocket of the market. Built to replace the C5 and long-departed C6, the as-yet unnamed car has just been confirmed by company CEO, Linda Jackson.

Talking to Autocar, she stressed the need for something familiar-feeling, but “something different.”

“What it won’t be is a new C5. But there will be a new large saloon, because having one in the line up is a crucial part of being a big manufacturer; to be credible you need a range across small, medium and large cars, including SUVs.

“Do that well, and you cover the requirements of volume and profit to succeed in this business across fleet and private sales.”

Chinese demand is the driving force behind the move. While SUVs are now the dominant force in the world’s most populous country, prestige saloons still have a large part of the market cornered.

Citroen’s Chinese sales slumped 47 per cent last year, a clear victim of the country’s demand for large, trendy SUVs and large saloons; two products the firm doesn’t offer right now. Sister company DS has launched the tech-heavy DS7, which will be the group’s first major new assault on Chinese buyers’ wallets. Peugeot also has the 5008.

The new Citroen saloon will be inspired by the Cxperience concept that debuted at the Paris Motor Show in 2016. That was actually a hatchback, and while Jackson admits the production car will ‘evolve’ (a lot, we reckon), it’s one hell of a striking place to start.

It will put comfort before anything else, and we’re hoping for some truly eccentric touches, like a fuel filler cap release inside a wheel arch, a furry gear lever or brakes that only work on Wednesdays.

Source: Autocar